The present invention relates to a rotary, ground driven row cleaner for use in conservation tillage farming such as no-till or low-till and is particularly useful in conjunction with row planter units. Previous planter units using rotary row cleaner devices are illustrated in Martin U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,890, the Winterton U.S. Pat. 5,341,754 and the Winterton U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,995.
The row cleaners hereinbefore utilized consist generally of two toothed wheels which are angularly disposed so as to sweep residue, such as organic mulch, laterally away from the path followed by furrow opening means and frequently take the form of a pair of forwardly converging discs adapted to create a furrow in the soil. The toothed sweeper wheels traditionally are mounted on a rigid frame of the planter unit ahead of a pair of depth gauge wheels and are located at the position usually occupied by a rotatable coulter. When used, a coulter slices vertically into the soil ahead of the furrow openers and facilities formation of the furrow by the openers.
Various means have been suggested by which the sweeper wheels are urged toward or away from the ground and provided with adjustable mechanism, however, the previous devices have not provided a satisfactory answer to the trash buildup encountered in planting low-or no-till acreage.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus which involves at least two pair of sweeper wheels with the forward-most pair acting as cutters while simultaneously moving the cut mulch or residue outwardly away from the associated furrow opening devices and another pair of wheels intermediate the first cutter pair and the furrow opening device further sweep residue or mulch away from the furrow opening devices.
Another object of the present invention is to independently spring the forward and rearward set of sweeper wheels so as to permit the sweeper wheels to cut mulch and other debris without unnecessarily disturbing the ground.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for use with a planter unit having an elongated and laterally extending bar by which the planter unit is pulled forwardly and a furrow opener for use in minimally tilled or untilled soil, the apparatus comprising a frame carried by the elongated and laterally extending bar and having mounted thereon a first pair of rotatable trash wheels and a second pair of rotatable trash wheels longitudinally spaced behind said first pair of rotatable trash wheels and forward of the furrow opener, the first pair of rotatable trash wheels being angularly disposed toward each other forming a first angle therebetween and staggered such that one rotatable trash wheel contacts soil forward of the other rotatable trash wheel, the second pair of rotatable trash wheels being angularly disposed toward each other forming a second angle therebetween greater than the first angle, the first pair of rotatable trash wheels and the second pair of rotatable trash wheels each being positioned in engagement with soil with the centers of rotation of the rotatable trash wheels forming each pair on opposite sides of a vertical plane in the path of travel of the furrow opener whereby forward movement of the planter unit rotatably drives the first and second pair of rotatable trash wheels to cause the first pair of rotatable trash wheels to cut trash and to pull residue in laterally opposite directions and the second pair of rotatable trash wheels further pulling trash away from the path of the advancing furrow opener.
A final object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for use with a planter unit having an elongated and laterally extending bar by which the planter unit is pulled forwardly and a furrow opener for use in minimally tilled or untilled soil, the apparatus comprising a frame mounted below the elongated and laterally extending bar and having a first pair of rotatable trash wheels mounted on a first shaft and a second pair of rotatable trash wheels mounted on a second shaft carried by the frame and longitudinally spaced behind the first pair of rotatable trash wheels and forward of the furrow opener, the first pair of rotatable trash wheels being angularly disposed toward each other forming a first angle therebetween and staggered such that one rotatable trash wheel contacts soil forward of the other rotatable trash wheel, the second pair of rotatable trash wheels being angularly disposed toward each other forming a second angle therebetween greater than the first angle, each of the first pair of rotatable trash wheels being angularly disposed to the ground and each of the second pair of rotatable trash wheels being angularly disposed to the ground at an angle greater than the corresponding angle formed by each of the first pair of rotatable trash wheels, each of the first pair of rotatable trash wheels and the second pair of trash wheels being independently and continually urged toward the soil, the first pair of rotatable trash wheels and the second pair of rotatable trash wheels each being positioned in engagement with soil with the centers of rotation of the rotatable trash wheels forming each pair on opposite sides of a vertical plane in the path of travel of the furrow opener whereby forward movement of the planter unit rotatably drives the first and second pair of rotatable trash wheels to cause the first pair of rotatable trash wheels to cut trash and to pull residue in laterally opposite directions and the second pair of rotatable trash wheels further pulling trash away from the path of the advancing furrow opener.